London Eurovision Party 2014 review

Posted by Daniel

The Eurovision circus came to London last night with a plethora of Sofabet commenters in attendance. To be honest, there wasn’t much we learnt that we didn’t glean from Amsterdam. Each of the 2014 acts here were also at the Dutch event a week before, with all the caveats mentioned at the start of that article. Points of difference are in the detail rather than the larger picture. Videos of last night’s performances can be found at the essential esckaz.com.

It was a better evening for Armenia’s Aram MP3, with none of the booing that marred his Amsterdam experience. This seemed to confirm a sense that the controversy over his disputed comments has passed. ‘Not Alone’ retains a powerful punch and Aram is a strong vocalist. It remains the most fascinating entry from a staging point of view, given its potential for a cinematic feel in Copenhagen.

If anyone stole the show last night, it was Spain’s Ruth Lorenzo, but she was the first to admit that she was playing to a home crowd. Her rendition of ‘Nessun Dorma’ and that X Factor performance of ‘Purple Rain’ had the fanboys in raptures once more. She was powerful but not overblown singing the latter, and that’s how she needs to approach her Eurovision entry, ‘Dancing in the Rain’, which went down a storm here.

Ruth was in competition for the title of crowd favourite with a few other acts, including local entrant, Molly. This was a better night for her too. There is clearly going to be a large reverb effect used for ‘Children of the Universe’ in Copenhagen. It hadn’t come across effectively in Amsterdam due to technical issues, but its potential to fill a large arena was much more in evidence here. Molly also effectively showcased two very credible numbers from her new album.

Conchita Wurst was not going down quietly – not that this audience would let her – as she started ‘That’s What I Am’ at the top of the Cafe de Paris staircase, in diva style. “Con-chi-ta” the fans chanted in between her songs, and she was flawless again for Eurovision entry ‘Rise Like a Phoenix’. It was no surprise to see Austria’s price in the win market contract further as a result of her reception last night.

Another one the fanboys love is Portugal’s Suzy, and she seems to know how to play the crowd, based on her decision to start off with ‘Quedate Conmigo’ last night. She’s clearly got a much better voice than was apparent in the national final. ‘Quero Sur Tua’ doesn’t really showcase those vocals, but it’s a slice of traditional Latin cheese that the audience greedily lapped up.

Another act who worked the audience well was Greece’s Freaky Fortune, displaying their talents with two medleys – one of recent Eurovision winners and another of Max Martin-penned pop anthems. Otherwise, ‘Rise Up’ is always going to work well in an environment like this and supporters have to hope it’s as effective on stage in Copenhagen. The three boys have the in-built advantage of being highly telegenic.

As indeed does Switzerland’s Sebalter, who melted plenty of hearts with his charm and zest on stage. ‘Hunter of Stars’ is catchy, feelgood material – especially in his hands – and its qualification chances continue to go up in my estimation.

Norway’s Carl Espen is not so much a natural on stage. Joined by the cousin who composed ‘Silent Storm’ about him, he struggled a little with the higher register of the first chorus before opening up far more effectively afterwards. It’ll be interesting to see how he handles the pressures of the contest.

Ukraine’s Mariya was without her backing dancers this time, but showcased her own moves for ‘Tick-Tock’. I’ve been a bit dismissive of the overly-long verses in the past, but there’s no denying the relentless pure pop earworm of a chorus, and Mariya’s vocals are every match for it.

We got pretty much what we expected from Malta, Montenegro, Latvia and San Marino. The fans seem to have least interest in ‘Maybe’ of Valentina’s three Eurovision entries. Meanwhile, Romania finished off the night with another more rapturous reception for their previous Eurovision entry, ‘Playing With Fire’. There was nothing wrong with ‘Miracle’ here, save Paula’s continued inability to sing out the long note without needing to take a breath.

Do let us know your continued thoughts on the Eurovision build-up in the comments section below.

I agree that the staging for ‘Not Alone’ is a fascinating prospect. It feels crucial to its chances. Yeah, I love the observation that the song has a ‘cinematic feel’. Aram MP3 as an all-action bodyguard figure, perhaps? A kickboxer version of the passive-observer Kallay Saunders András might contrastingly paint Kallay as a bit limp and unmanly. He needs a justifiable outlet for his anger, or at least (staging-based) resistance. You know that someone of the calibre of Fokas or Sir Peter Hall would have fun staging for Aram’s Eurovision show.

I was surprised to read that Aram is 30. He looks older. I think it’s the heavy features and the hooked nose. Is he pleasing to the eye in person? I live in Brum and he reminds me of a couple of local kebab shop owners. He has big eyes and buckets of charisma, but I would so be getting rid of that rough leather jacket he wears in the ‘Not Alone’ video. What was his stage garb like in London?

Am intrigued by your observation that Carl Espen struggled with the higher register of the first verse. It’s high but not in the falsetto. Was that due to the nerves you also observed; or was that due to his voice having a problem reaching those notes? With my own singing I have a tendency to “scoop” and / or “slide”. The lyrical structure of Silent Storm, I feel, encourages such vocal bad habits. I wonder if Carl is warming-up correctly. I read that he’s 31, so I guess he must be an experienced singer and be experienced with performance preparation.

Carl was ‘joined by his cousin’? Was his cousin on stage with him? Playing the piano accompaniment? I imagine Carl feels most at home sitting watching ‘The Kiiling’ while tucking into a beef and tomato Pot Noodle. I read his cousin wrote the song specially for Carl, and it does feel as though this is the main plank in his cousin’s epic project to get Carl out of the house more often! I can easily imaginatively hear Carl singing Axel Hirsoux’s ‘Mother’.

Hi Guildo. Aram was dressed in green blazer, white shirt and tie. He looked like a dapper game show host. Not sure if Carl’s first chorus moment was down to nerves, but he certainly looked nervous before coming into his own with the second verse / chorus. His cousin played the guitar next to him.

Impressed with Aram mp3, obviously brought out early on so no one was drunk enough to start booing. I think he’s dug himself out of that hole he may of got into with Conchita and things have moved on, thought he sung rather well and does look every bit a winning act. Ruth lorenzo has got a set of pipes on her and is best female singer this year (power wise) but still think “dancing in the rain” is still a little OTT for me, if she does manage a top ten, it will be only just. Molly I feel rocked it, and I kinda like her in her jeggins and leather biker jacket, and manic pixie dream girl look might not be the way to go with her, she is a rock chick so let her rock I say. Conchita was every bit the star of the night, and watching her sing “my heart will go on”, well in the venue of cafe de paris, well for me anyway it felt like we back on the titanic’s maiden voyage, Oh the romance, no doubt she’ll surprise in the final, and punters are putting their hard earn cash and backing her off the board. Portugal’s Suzy didn’t really impress me much, she was never going to out shine Ruth or Conchita. Greece sung every song from spice girls to backstreet boys and must say they are great performers, I liked every song Freaky Fortune & Riskykidd sung apart from “rise up” so I’m a top ten layer this year on greece. Switzerland impress me Sebalter has real appeal but still unsure if “Hunter of Stars” will make the final. Norway was a real let down, Carl Espen and his cousin appeared on stage and I felt were going to hold me down tattoo me or give me prince albert, Norway are NOT winning eurovision!! Maria Yaremchuk was great and I think this will be performed well in the final, ukraine is one to keep green. Malta did the job well and also great live act. Montenegro did well also, throwing CD’s to the crowd and Sergej is a big imposing figure and filled the tiny stage, although “moj svijet” isn’t my sort of thing I can see him making the final. If Sergej was throwing CD’s to the crowd, then San marino’s Valentina should of be giving away cassette’s, “maybe” has a real 70’s feel to it, I like it but she is a NQ for the final. Latvia are also a lay in the semi’s Awrzemnieki looked like they had just strolled in from busking outside and looked very pale on the stage, need a fake to bake really, it’s a sunbed or exit. Romania also were great at anything over 2.5 for a top ten would be a back, “Miracle” has it flaws but still is a danger for layers. It was really a fantastic night, and meeting some of the sofabet team Tim b, Panos and also you Daniel, really made the night.

Can I ask you (or anyone else, I suppose) a couple of questions about Molly? I plunged EW at 22s a few weeks ago and since that time (naturally) I’ve been fault-finding about her.

In the ‘COTU’ video of her live stage performance, 3 points have worried me about her:

1) Her mumbling talk-through of the opening lyrics.
2) The Young Bonnie scratchiness of her voice.
3) Her snooty to-camera face.

To my eyes, she was nervous during that video performance, and held her microphone too close to her mouth (highlighted further by the mic technique of her backing singers). It’s a natural instinct – but she seemed near to eating it! Her opening mumbling was also evidence of her nerves, evidence of her wanting to hide. All matters that are easily solved.

The scratchiness of her voice grated on me, but I listened on YouTube to her singing another song (in a studio), where she sounded fine.

Her ‘snooty to-camera face’ in the video happens during the close up sequence. In a 6 second sequence, she drops her eyes to below camera level 4 times (and throws in a asymmetrical twitch!), each time inadvertently messaging that she thinks you the viewer is beneath her. Of course she’s thinking nothing of the sort – she’s just naturally a bit shy.This shyness is further flagged up during her singing of the chorus line, where she habitually closes her eyes. She spends a lot of the song with her eyes closed, internalising feelings. The inclusiveness of ‘We’ and ‘Children’ don’t seem to come naturally to her.

So yeah, what did her voice sound like? On ‘COTU’ and the other songs she sang? Was she still shy, and defensively reacting to her shyness in the same manner? Was the inadvertent snootiness gone? What attitude was she wearing on her face?

Hi Guildo, Molly is actually a really great artist/performer.But I have same concerns as you I’m afraid, I feel she’s more rock chick and she does have the croaky vocals, almost like a younger bonnie tyler. I think they will style her along the lines off ms de forrest, which I think will be a mistake. I think Molly isn’t really like that and it could go against the UK’s chances. Molly just isn’t as pretty a last years winner she reminds me of a winner of Alan Sugar’s apprentice, you got to take her seriously she is the biz as a live performer. The song is above average not great but above average and should do well, but i’ve ruled out the win. The snooty look in the close up, is just the way her face is, no matter of lighting camera angles you can’t change that. The start of the her song does have her mumbling and it goes on a bit too long. But there are a good few people like her and feel she has a great chance of the win. If you are sitting on money with molly I do believe her price will shorten, my advice would be to lay off excess liability nearer the final.

I love the song ‘COTU’. It and ‘Running’ are my favourites in this year’s ESC. The magic of COTU’s middle eight elevate it to another level for me.

Molly is a rock chick at heart, isn’t she? Her voice is rock chick and she doesn’t have the confidence in her looks, you feel, to pull off the ‘manic sexual pixie’ look and persona. She’s a bit outsider(ish), a bit emo, a bit introvert.

So, yeah, you’re probably right in your belief that it would be a misjudgement by the BEEB to style Molly against type. A miscast.

It’s a conundrum, innit?

The sensational Margaret Berger (yum!) for Norway last year managed to pull off the best of both worlds.

Thrilling, danger tinged song and staging sung by a confident super-curvy woman with girlish, facial expressions dressed in a sexy figure-hugging virginal-white dress.

If Margaret Berger was singing COTU in this year Contest, I feel it would be near-certain Top 3, at minimum..

I don’t think the manic pixie dream girl look will harm Molly… in fact I’d say it helps a lot given the nature of the song. She needs to be look as inviting and inclusive as possible, whereas the rock chick look would just be alienating if anything.

I’d like Molly to go a version of the manic pixie dream girl (much love to Eurovicious for introducing that brilliant term) route if she can, but I wonder if she can fully embrace and pull off the look.

She’ll never be Lena (imo, Molly doesn’t feel pretty enough; or at least isn’t interested in that persona), but, yeah, she might feel at home following the more Shamanic style pixie that was Loreen.

How about this for a solution:

Molly dressed in a virginal-white version of Loreen’s Tarot Card Lady costume and, instead of salivating like Emmellie did around the piper’s pipe, pawing and gyrating worshipingly around the girth of a huge centrally staged (Universal!) totem pole?

The ‘Children Of The Universe’ theme could also be played up by going the corny MJ route (‘Black or White’,’They Don’t Care About Us’ etc).

The sometimes unpleasant sound of Molly’s singing has bothered me but I reassured myself by re-listening to the unpleasant accents-of-the-world tour of a recent winning performance:

Confirmation that this would be the winner seems to come at 1:38 to 1:42? Fun, fuckable and available.

Kirsten Dunst (who has a German passport, btw) would have won with the same song. And she can pronounce in English much more convincingly.

Just watched Molly at the Eurovision Concert from a week or so ago. Loved it and feel delighted.

There’s our Molly, bedecked in a floral, virginal white, showing off near the full length of her sexy pale pins and confidently engaging with the audience. Reminds me a little of the XF Abi Alton restyle, but whereas Abi wore the contrived costuming unconvincingly and in shame, Molly looks liberated by it. She’s body-confident and so she can work it. She rocks. By George – you’re right.

The whiteness of her nighty (!) highlights her pale-skinned Englishness, highlights her youthfulness (compared to mumsy Sanna) and works a ‘living in the Age of Aquarius’ treat. Loving her long, newly blonde (?) flowing hair. Inspired by Daenerys Targaryen, perhaps? Finally, she’s moved worlds away from that Clarice Starling impersonator look she was sporting in the original COTU performance video. Plus, I commented a few weeks ago that I noticed from one of her YouTube vids that she has a lovely rack, so there’s multiple options to take to maximise the F factor. Forgive me. Betting corrupts my soul.

One of the abiding staples of children’s literature (and other branches of literature, of course) down the centuries has been the garden, a symbol of innocence, growth and rebirth. Molly and her floral nighty. I wonder if the staging for Molly can build on the connotations I’m seeing in her costume combined with the message of her song? I’d suggest a Stonehenge backdrop? The Black Sabbath and Spinal Tap associations actually make it all the more interesting and newsworthy. Ukraine grafted on a flipping Giant onto their staging last year, so why not? And Ukraine, Azer and Russia’s Fokas will have to go some to top a Stonehenge backdrop! And what’s more historically, anciently and recognizably English than Stonehenge?

For the elevating middle-eight mega magic sequence I’m seeing a moonlight-style spotlight falling on her as she lowers herself to her knees in the garden and looks up to give thanks to the starry diamond sky. The astrological function of Stonehenge could be incorporated in the scene here to emblazon a magnificent image, with Molly at the centre. The chosen one. The one. (Another staple of literature and film.)

In the Eurovision concert footage I noticed another pair of sexy legs on a stage-right black costumed violinist. Liking it.

Best original, anthemic pure 3 minute pop song in the contest, with a middle eight to flipping die for, and with a rock-voiced singer-songwriter ‘manic pixie dream girl’ on vocals.

The sound and technology problems that marred Molly’s Euro concert appearance, imo only served to mask what would have been a stunning triumph (and so held back a UK outright odds collapse).

I’m properly sold. The majority of my worries have been washed away. Very hopeful of a top 4 finish. Of course, there’s always the bloody draw to worry about now.

Still feels weird to have backed and re-backed the UK at Eurovision. Though I know, no matter what, I won’t be backing England to win the World Cup.

I was hoping to find flaws in Aram MP3 but I came away thinking Armenia are by far the most likely winners of ESC 2014. Still lots of hurdles to get over but its sounding like a winner to me. Vocally very impressive and this song makes an impact.

Im not sure what happened in Amsterdam last weekend but I thought Latvia were amateurish and banal. Little to commend this one.

Surprise of the night was Sebastian (Sebalter) – this could be the understated, humble, cute boy next door type of 2014 – its catchy too, I wont be laying for qualification. If he has a back story I bet he was a painter and decorator.

Ruth Lorenzo gave me a headache – she only seems to have one way of singing – Loud. But she does know how to play to an audience and is a natural on stage.

Quite the opposite, Carl from Norway struggles – his vocal was shakey and his eyes were closed for long periods. He came across as shy and detached from his audience. Its a terrific song but I’m not convinced he can pull it off.

Great night, shame I didn’t get to meet any of the guys who contribute here.

My thoughts from london.
Right lets get the negatives out of the the way first, the drink prices were robbery 2 disaronno and cokes for 25 pound not being a tight ass here but im kind of glad in a way i didnt offer to buy a round :), secondly the venue was very difficult viewing for anyone who were not tall, i was ok in this aspect but for my gf or anyone on the shorter side it was a nightmare trying to catch glimpses of the acts through peoples heads and shoulders.

So we kick off with latvia my first thoughts were very average vocal here and to be honest after hearing the rest probably the worst of the night vocally, its hard to see how jurys can give this any love being a kind of silly song anyway.

Next was valentina who performed her previous 2 entrys before coming back later in the night and performing maybe, i said this last year and ill say it again valentina is actually a good live vocalist she delivered all her songs well,but whether that will help her in her semi this year we shall see.

Armenia no booing this time for aram and i thought he looked slightly more relaxed and happier on stage then the videos from amsterdam, i had a real goosebump moment when the dubstep part kicked in on not allone this sounds fantastic live and the beat gives you shivers,

Seabalter from switzerland came on and delivered with the same sort of charisma delivered in amsterdam, very likeable and id say they are performing it to its full potential.

Conchita started on the balcony and and made her way down the stairs with a real diva swagger, performing 3 songs including rise like a phoenix and my heart will go on, good charisma from conchita and the eurofans in london were lapping this up,

Montenegro’s sergej came out looking like a cross between a school teacher and russ abbot
His delivery was fine but he is very much lacking in charisma and being very telegenic at all,

Suzy from portugal sounds a lot better then i expected from her doing justice to quedate conmigo, before performing her own song which had most of the crowd dancing along she went down pretty well with the audience.

Ukraine: i was really looking forward to this after loving the amsterdam performance, but this time maria was alone without the choreography which loses some of the impact, nothing wrong with her performance though and the girl has got pipes, maybe i was just expecting more of a show from her.

Carl espen was pretty much carl espen, i always feel uncomfortable watching him as he sounds like he could crack at any time during the higher falsetto parts but doesnt,sounds much more comfortable when powering the song out more, he didnt make a massive impact on me live, but i still respect his chances.

Ruth showcased her vocals at every oppurtunity first with nessen dorma and then dancing in the rain probably some of the strongest vocals of the night here, ruth is seriously putting her heart and soul into eurovision this year and is giving 110 per cent, great reception for her from the english crowd.

Uk. Ive never been the biggest fan of this entry, but like armenia its one that sounds really good when hearing it live, she worked the crowd at every oppurtunity and obviously this got a fantastic reception from the home crowd.

Malta gave a pretty good performance, good authentic feel from this. the female vocalist is very talented also, they give you the feel of a proper band.

Last up romania who performed playing with fire, whilst spraying flames into the air and followed up with miracle, both songs had everybody up and dancing,but paula was struggling a bit with the high notes.

All in all i had a good time, nice to meet up with the other guys from the betting community and we certainly got our moneys worth as far as the acts were concerned.

Hello everybody,
I have listened to Aram’s studio version,many times.!It’s a very good ballad..!Maybe too good,especially the blend of the various instruments with the dubstep..I’ve seen the live performance in both Amsterdam and London..!It’s just not the same..!The first 1.30 minute or so,is quite boring,quite slow with aram wishpering repeatedly (endelessly) “you are not alone”…it’s just so boring…you can easily go for chips or water and don’t actually miss anything special…then,about 20-30 seconds of dubstep which elevates the songs and after that 20-30 seconds of boring repetation of “you are not alone”…i don’t like either Aram’s exaggerating face expressions..all in all i really don’t believe that he is so big and clear favourite for the win..I think that Molly chances are better than we believe..Her song is very catchy from the very first second,great live performance which is going to look even better at Hallern with the audience going “mad”..!she has made excellent interviews so far,bbc promotes the song much better than last years entries(London,Amsterdam,Malta etc.)…plus i really think that EBU will be extremely pleasant if the 60th anniversary Eurovision take place in London,in “safe hands”..!
I also like Hungary’s chances,but i am a little but considered of the live performance and the absence of any kind of promo…

There’s not really been too much to change anyone’s position on anything over the last few weeks, I think. For me it’s still about differentiating Hungary, UK and Armenia, with Denmark the only contending Nordic. I grudgingly also bought a little bit of Ukraine, which has been the big improver, as ever. I sold some Armenia at 2.08, but am hoping to buy that back over the fortnight. I also have Azerbaijan green at the moment in the expectation that it will shorten in rehearsals.

I generally agree with most commenters’ big-picture assessments, and it’s really now a matter of waiting for rehearsals and draw. In the outright market, it’s all too easy to build a good case right now against every contender. The flimsiest of these seems to me to be the case against the UK. Molly’s entry is nearly Eurovision-perfect; most of the niggles raised about it so far seem very minor to me in the scheme of things. The only really big problem is that it’s the UK’s entry. But Norway syndrome tells us in the final analysis that friendless countries can win with the right song. The current voting system also seems Molly-friendly to me; I struggle to see very far down on either jury or televote, and there seems no reason to punish it in the running order. My worries about Armenia and Hungary are far greater.

I’m flummoxed by the top 10 and Q markets though. I strongly believe in assessing an entry’s quality first and foremost within its genre rather than against the field – and then moderating that by asking questions about the genre. For this reason I’m massively sceptical about Austria. It may well be flawlessly sung, but so has many a past bellyflop. It’s got many features of the classic Eurofanwank. It’s dated, dated, dated. It makes me think of Nina in 2011 for Serbia, which I thought was similarly flawless and loads more fun – but out of contention for a decent result on genre alone. With Conchita, who will (I think) significantly discomfort a big chunk of the electorate, I see no guarantee she will even make the final.

A few other quick thoughts:
(1) Latvia: despite my hatred, I’m happily sitting on a Q back at 4.8, which I still think is outrageous value. An animated .gif of a song, but very very good at what it’s trying to do. Same goes for Belgium, where I’m also both a hater and a backer.
(2) Spain: absolutely not. Wrong key for the singer, forced and uncomfortable. I won’t be going anywhere near it unless it gets backed heavily towards the day and there’s value in a top 10 lay.
(3) Israel: deserves a bit more respect than it’s been getting, I think. Loads of presence, stomps along, and will stand out anywhere in the draw. One of the better value Q bets going at present?

I think Israels Q price has a lot to do with its poor Q record recently, it doesn’t have any allies, its “politically” unpopular. Therefore, the thought is, it would take a very good jury score to pull it through.

As for Latvia, I agree, I also have it to qualify. I see it as a Malta/Hungary/Greece type song from last year. Light hearted, fun and catchy. It won’t score well with jurys, but I don’t think it will be punished to the bottom of the pile. I would have it priced around 2/1 to qualify

I’ve also added Ukraine, EW at 16s. I remember last year’s price collapse for Zlata when details began to leak of the Ukranian stage show. The price fell as though down a suddenly emerged sink hole.

I wrote off Ukraine early last ESC season, dismissing the song as a steaming mish-mash of wannabe Disney-esque crap, a rejected first draft number for a sequel to the Lion King,

Must admit that in the final Zlata sang and sold the song as though effortlessly conducting a diva masterclass. Amazing, flawless performance. The erstwhile contrived staging seemed to hang together nicely on the night, too.

Great spot Dash. She has told esckaz in an interview to expect something different to what we saw in Amsterdam, so a change in line-up is plausible. We’ll only know for sure when we see the rehearsal practice.

Here’s an idea: Femen-inspired choreo. Obviously not with actual boobs. But any revolutionary/freedom-fightery element (that isn’t explicitly political enough to fall foul of the EBU) will go down a storm. One recalls Svetlana Loboda’s Ukrainian flag on the drums.

Just watched the Amsterdam footage and found myself giggling at the shot-in-mid-air antics of the backing dancers. Hope they remembered to wear their knee pads! Was reminded of elements from this old N Sync vid:

If anyone’s interested *tumbleweed*, Serbia is having its own internal Eurovision-style contest on 28/29 April – 1 semi, 1 final, 25 big-name acts. The running order draw was a few days ago and the songs have started coming out now. “Alkohol” by Maya Berovic sounds like the winner to me… http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1on9ku_maya-alkohol_music The quality is a lot higher than Eurovision this year judging by the songs out so far.

Surely Sweden is the most guaranteed vote catcher this year and a likely winner? I’ve been surprised at the lack of enthusiasm for it on this (brilliant) site and assumed everyone was playing it down while taking favourable odds. Daniel even hinted at it being a possible lay to qualify from the semi. It is distinctly possible however that i am old fashioned and somewhat out of touch!

I don’t think Undo is a winning entry. It’s a very nice song, but if there’s a song that is too nice this year then this is it. I don’t think the song will really connect with viewers on a Saturday night either.